Sun Gazette endorsement: Comstock in the 10th District

[Sun Gazette endorsements represent the viewpoint of Sun Gazette Newspapers, which provides content to, but is otherwise unaffiliated with, InsideNoVa or Rappahannock Media LLC.]

Our general view of endorsements over the years has been that those challenging incumbents need to make their case why those in office should be replaced. So far this year, we’ve applied that standard both to the U.S. Senate race and the 8th and 11th District U.S. House of Representatives races.

Our view is that the incumbents in those races (Democrats Tim Kaine, Don Beyer and Gerald Connolly) are representing their constituents – perhaps not perfectly, but well enough – and that their challengers offered no solid reasons to send them packing.

We mull the 10th District race through the same prism. The question is not whether U.S. Rep. Barbara Comstock (R) has been perfect, but whether her Democratic challenger, state Sen. Jennifer Wexton, has made the case to send the incumbent packing.

As this race began, after Wexton easily rose to the top during a Democratic nomination process that besides her wasn’t brimming with well-known talent, we viewed Wexton as a formidable candidate, in part due to her own record and in part because changing demographics in the 10th District have endangered Comstock’s standing – a standing that hasn’t been helped by the incumbent’s not being a visible presence at times in the sprawling district, and her attempts to be all things to all people, an effort that has required some fancy political gymnastics.

When this race began in earnest over the summer, we were leaning Wexton. But in the intervening period she’s been underwhelming – neither her campaign advertising nor her stump appearances has showcased the depth that we suspect Wexton has. We’re guessing she’s listening to consultants, never a particularly good strategy for a candidate who has solid roots in the community.

Just as we believe that candidates who run flaccid campaigns often turn out to be uninspired office-holders, we further believe that challengers must clearly enunciate why an incumbent needs to go. Maybe Wexton’s messaging will get there by Nov. 6, but so far, it’s been lacking.

In 2014, when she was the Republican nominee to succeed longtime incumbent Frank Wolf, we opined that Comstock “has the right mix of conservative principles and a can-do attitude, along with the ability to build relationships on both sides of the aisle,” and noted that she would provide balance to a Northern Virginia delegation that included two Democrats.

Perhaps we were a little more enthusiastic about Comstock back then. And the demographics of the 10th District are changing in a hurry. All of which means Wexton, who we believe has the ability and gravitas to serve in Congress, could well upend Republicans’ 38-year control of the seat. Had she been more aggressively specific in trying to seal the deal, we well might have endorsed her.

But Wexton has not yet made the case, and with absentee ballots now being cast left and right across the district, the sand in our hourglass has run out.

It’s a very, very close call, closer than in either 2014 or 2016, yet on balance we believe BARBARA COMSTOCK merits another term.